Vote underscores how gasoline prices have become political issue

After lobbying by President Barack Obama and Senate Democratic leaders, the Senate Thursday defeated legislation to speed up construction of a U.S.-Canadian oil pipeline.

The White House victory came after the president started personally calling Democratic senators Wednesday night. The vote underscored the extent to which rising gas prices and energy supply have become a central political issue.

Republicans — along with the oil industry, which is running a nationwide advertising campaign about energy supplies — have been attacking Obama on the campaign trail for failing to fully exploit traditional oil and gas resources while Americans are financially stretched. Democrats and their environmental supporters counter that the president must weigh the benefits of fossil fuels against their environmental impact and the importance of promoting renewable energy.

The dispute came to a head Thursday afternoon on Capitol Hill, as the Senate considered two competing amendments to a federal transportation bill addressing the Keystone XL pipeline extension, which would carry heavy crude oil from Alberta’s oil sands to gulf coast refineries. The project requires pipeline’s builder, TransCanada, to get a federal permit from the State Department because it crosses an international border; Obama rejected the permit in January when faced with a congressionally-mandated deadline of Feb. 21.

Sens. John Hoeven, R-N.D., Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and David Vitter, R-La., offered an amendment Thursday that would have eliminated TransCanada’s need for a federal permit to cross the U.S.-Canadian border, while allowing Nebraska unlimited time to develop an alternative route through its territory. At the time Obama rejected the permit, he said he could not approve the pipeline until the firm hoping to build it developed a route circumventing the environmentally sensitive Sandhills area in Nebraska.

Lugar said in a floor speech that building the “pipeline would create thousands of private sector jobs, and it would help protect United States national security interests. It comes at no taxpayer expense, and it will strengthen vital ties with our ally Canada.”

Proponents needed 60 votes for a filibuster-proof majority; the final tally on the amendment was 56-42.

Late last month, TransCanada said it will push ahead with plans to build the segment running from Cushing, Okla., to Port Arthur, Texas, and will apply later on for a federal permit for the cross-border section of the pipeline. That move would alleviate the glut of oil at Cushing, a major terminal, and address one of the main reasons for building the pipeline extension.

The Senate also rejected 64-34 a competing measure by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that would have required the pipeline permit application to be approved or denied within 90 days of the completion of all analyses required by current law and executive orders.